A Review: SWORDQUEST #0

The Fellowship was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of SWORDQUEST #0 from Dynamite Entertainment. Chad Bowers and Chris Sims write, Ghostwriter X draws and colors, with color flat assist by Karl Fan, and Josh Krach letters.

Peter is a middle-aged programmer who doesn’t take particularly good care of himself. He gets home late one night to witness his apartment building burning down. He runs in to save his neighbor’s dog, which leads to a life-changing discovery. And that takes him to his mom’s house, where he discovers his old Atari game. He was obsessed with Swordquest back in the day, and looking through his old stuff gives him a crazy idea.

The thrust of this zero issue (for me, anyway) is Peter and how relatable a character he is. He’s a genuinely nice guy in kind of a bad spot (no spoilers). But this issue gives us a chance to get to know him before he makes whatever big choice he’s about to make. And the art is a cool mix of ‘80s retro and gamer geekdom.

If this issue was intended to make me curious about how wild and crazy Peter’s life is about to get, it worked. I’m all in, and you should come along for the ride too.

SWORDQUEST #0 is available now from your local comic shop, or online at dynamite.com.

~Mike ( @MikeyGeek )